Electronic and Mobile Commerce - Principles of Information Systems - page 325

expenditures on envelopes and stamps. In addition, the PayItGreen Alliance reports that
paying bills online is good for the environment. By its estimates, the average household makes
seven paper bill payments per month. If just 10 percent of the U.S. population converted to
online bill payment, the environmental savings would total more than 75 million pounds of
paper, nearly 1 million trees and 2 million pounds of greenhouse gases. 24
Internet banking in Asia, Europe, and Japan is considerably advanced compared to the
United States. For example, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Asia), or ICBC
Asia, offers secure personal Internet banking services that allow customers to manage their
personal finances safely and reliably anywhere and anytime. Customers can view their account
summary and detailed transactions; transfer funds; pay bills; submit applications for loans,
insurance, and ATM card services; inquire about interest rates and exchange rates; view their
checking account; stop check payments; request new checks; buy and sell securities; and even
more functions. 25
All of the major banks and many of the smaller banks in the U.S. enable their customers
to pay bills online; many support bill payment via cell phone or other wireless device. Banks
are eager to gain more customers who pay bills online because such customers tend to stay
with the bank longer, have higher cash balances, and use more of the bank's products. To
encourage the use of this service, many banks have eliminated all fees associated with online
bill payment.
The next advance in online bill paying is electronic bill presentment , which eliminates
all paper, down to the bill itself. With this process, the vendor posts an image of your state-
ment on the Internet and alerts you by e-mail that your bill has arrived. You then direct your
bank to pay it. ePower is an electronic bill presentment and payment solution provider that
enables utility firms to provide interactive financial statements to their customers via e-mail
and on the Internet at www.payabill.com . 26

electronic bill presentment
A method of billing whereby a
vendor posts an image of your
statement on the Internet and alerts
you by e-mail that your bill has
arrived.